Wolfgang Hampel. Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society for Betty MacDonald Fans all over the world.
Wolfgang Hampel interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and other famous writers and artists.
Wolfgang Hampel's Betty MacDonald and Ma and Pa Kettle biography and Betty MacDonald Interviews are very popular all over the world.
Wolfgang Hampel is also famous for his satirical poems and stories.

Leonardo Da Vinci Designed A Bridge...Now It's Being Build! Amazing!

At
the turn of this year, students from Eindhoven University of Technology
(TU/e) constructed a replica of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in ice. Next
up, they're turning their attention to a bridge designed by Leonardo da
Vinci. If successfully completed, it will have the longest open span
ever built from ice.According to TU/e, the current record for the longest such span is held
by the first project it ran as part of its Structural Ice program. The
Pykrete Dome was built in 2014 and had a span of 30 m (98 ft). The aim
for the da Vinci Bridge in Ice is for a span of 50 m (164 ft).Pykrete is a mixture of ice reinforced with wood or paper fibers, used
to construct the Structural Ice projects. It is said to be three times
stronger than plain ice and a lot tougher. The overall aim of the
projects is to show how pykrete can be used as a building material for
temporary structures."Pykrete offers an easy way to build slim, safe and low-cost temporary
structures," explains project leader and TU/e lecturer Arno Pronk. "For
example, for temporary roads in Arctic regions, at events or for ice
hotels."

When it comes to refugees, Scandinavia is deeply divided

A Danish man spits at refugees who are passing beneath the bridge he is standing on. (Sigrid Nygaard/ Information)

To
some Americans, Scandinavian countries might all seem basically the
same: They lead the world's rankings, be it in education or health care,
and seem to be centers of innovation. These days, however, northern
Europe couldn't be more divided. What is separating these wealthy
nations? The question of how to deal with refugees.
Sweden has so
far taken in the most refugees per capita among all European nations.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Denmark, authorities have taken the opposite
approach. They placed an ad in Lebanese newspapers, carrying an unspoken yet unmistakable message: Don't come to Denmark. On Wednesday, Denmark stopped
all trains connecting the country to continental Europe through Germany
for an undetermined time to prevent refugees from being able to cross
the border.
Earlier in the week, the Danish newspaper Information published a photo by Sigrid Nygaard
of a man spitting on refugees who were passing under a bridge. The
image was widely circulated on social media sites. What does this photo
represent? Is it the country's real face?
It certainly isn't the
image most Americans have of peace-loving Scandinavia. And yet, such
tensions could hardly surprise close observers of Scandinavian politics.
"Until
2001, Norway, Sweden and Denmark could be seen as a fairly liberal
bastion in the north of Europe," Rune Berglund Steen, the director of
the Norwegian Center against Racism, told The Washington Post. Since
then, Norway and Denmark have drifted away from Sweden.
"In
Denmark and Norway, the political climate has been dominated by
right-wing populist parties peddling in anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim
rhetoric, something Sweden — at least until the recent rise of the
Sweden Democrats — has been spared from," Berglund Steen explained. He
said the evolution of the political discourse in those countries has led
to different attitudes toward refugees.
Already in 2012, Patrick Kingsley observed
in the British Guardian: "Denmark, then, is a tale of two opposing
mindsets – one indignant and xenophobic, the other tolerant and
communal." The country's strengths, which include its strong
inter-community relationships, are also partially responsible for its
current levels of xenophobia. "Danes reimagined their society as one
defined by togetherness," Kingsley, who published the book "How to Be
Danish," wrote. Consequently, Denmark has become a highly homogeneous
society, making it difficult for some foreigners to assimilate.
After
the Liberal Party, which is categorized as center-right, formed a
minority government in June, it drastically curtailed refugees' rights.
Denmark continues to isolate itself from the influx of newcomers to
Europe and has cut generous benefits to discourage asylum seekers from
coming to the nation.
Denmark is
hardly the only northern European country opposed to more migrants. In
the first half of this year, Norway, Finland and Iceland also took in
fewer than 15,000 refugees each — compared to 75,000 who came to Sweden —
though Sweden has by far Scandinavia's biggest population with about 10
million citizens.
Northern European countries are among the world's richest
Except
for Finland, these countries are extraordinarily wealthy, partially due
to oil revenues, which allow them to fund a generous welfare system.
Norway's Government Pension Fund is financed through the country's
surpluses in oil sales and is currently worth
about $870 billion, for instance. Norway has the world's sixth-highest
gross domestic product per capita, which means its citizens are among
the world's richest, on average.
But Norway has not done nearly
as much as Sweden to help refugees. When some tried to enter the country
from the Arctic Circle, crossing the Russian-Norwegian border, the
government threatened to charge anyone who helped them with human
trafficking.
"These days, a popular conception in Sweden seems to
be that Norway is a rather racist country, while a popular conception
in Norway is that Sweden is a very naïve country, blind to the supposed
hazards of immigration," Berglund Steen said. "While both views are
strongly oversimplified, there is little doubt that sadly,
anti-immigrant and Islamophobic rhetoric generally has had more
resonance in Norway."
Why is there so much fear?
In
many of these countries, the financial burden does not necessarily
appear to be the main argument against accepting more refugees. Rather,
it's the fear of having to adapt a societal concept that appears to work
rather well in many regards. Whereas German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged
that the country had to accept that it would change due to the influx
of hundreds of thousands of refugees in the coming years to stop its
population decline, the northern Europeans seem more determined to
preserve their way of living.
In an interview with NPR, Robert
Acker, who emigrated from Bosnia to Sweden in the 1990s, said the mood
was changing in Sweden as well. "I got along with the Swedes early
on. But now, I believe it's a totally different thing. ... They want us
out. They just want Swedes here." As in the other countries, many Swedes
accuse Muslims of not being willing to to assimilate — but they do not
mention how difficult some migrants find it to build ties because they
don't feel welcome.
Terror attacks have only increased the rift
in recent months: In February, for instance, a man who had sworn
fidelity to the Islamic State killed two people in Copenhagen, the
capital of Denmark. Violence has also targeted Scandinavian Muslims: Several Swedish mosques have been burned down this year.
Sweden and Iceland stand out
According to a Eurostat survey,
most Swedes continue to think positively about non-E.U. immigrants. In
Iceland, which has only about 300,000 inhabitants and does not
technically belong to Scandinavia although it is often associated with
the region, support has gone even further. Citizens recently urged
the country's government to accept more refugees. A poll conducted by
Iceland's market and media research institute MMR showed that 88.5
percent of the population thought the country should accept more
refugees. Last week, 1,000 Icelanders even offered their homes to accommodate them.
The
initiative could turn out to be a success: The country's welfare
minister announced shortly afterward that authorities were examining
private accommodation offers, and that the country might decide to let
in more refugees as a result.
In Finland, a Nordic country close
to Scandinavia, where the population is more opposed to accepting more
refugees, the reverse happened: The prime minister announced last
weekend that he would accommodate refugees in his private home in order
to inspire others to do the same.
Also read:A Hungarian camerawoman trips refugees who are running from policeThis map helps explain why some European countries reject refugees, and others love them7 Middle East crises that are a bigger problem than Iran’s nuclear program

About Me

Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.